Karma Made Me Do It

When my daughter was here last month she got me hooked on a Facebook game, Candy Crush Saga. The purpose of said game is to eliminate certain tiles to pass the level. The levels get progressively more difficult and it often takes me days to pass one. It requires that I come up with a strategy, because if I plow through it without thought I will be stuck forever. I play this game daily for one reason: I am required to consider my next move thus I cannot be impulsive.
Impulsive...most likely my number 1 personality defect. Over the course of my life this little quirk has gotten me into a mountain of trouble. I find myself apologizing for things I've said or done on a regular basis. Add to that twenty years of high doses of a steroid and... well, if you don't know about the side effects of steroids you've never followed a sports figure, or even stumbled on to one. On the other hand, I am fully aware of this problem and I own my mistakes, making a huge effort to learn from them. In a society where it is commonplace to hand the responsibility for our actions to someone else I think that's saying something.
Reincarnation experts say we choose the life we lead before we even jump into the womb. The life we choose is one in which we are meant to learn something that will aid us into becoming more spiritually evolved. In my case, compassion.
I learn more about compassion every time I have someone stop speaking to me with no explanation. I realize my faults but if no one tells me what I did how am I to know what it is I need to work on? Over the years I have developed the ability to feel another person's pain. I don't need anyone to tell me what rejection feels like or how much it hurts to be lonely.
Every time I get on a bus or sit in a waiting room someone seeks me out to tell me how much they  hurt. Somehow people in emotional turmoil understand that I understand. Over the years I have encouraged a wannabe drag queen to get on the stage, young mothers to leave abusive relationships, and teenagers not to end their lives. I do not discourage dreams or judge lifestyles. That is God's business, not mine.
How many times have you passed a homeless person and wondered why they are there? Have you ever wondered why someone would choose to live on the streets when they are offered a comfortable small apartment? I have. More times than not it's because they are exhausted. So tired of rejection they are no longer willing to take a chance on trusting someone. Once you've been beaten down so many times it is just more comfortable to stay there.
It's very popular these days to say anything is possible if you only think positively. They never seem to mention that this is not enough. The money, success and good life take much more than that. Unless you do the work and help someone else along the way you'll only be thinking positively, you won't be living it. Happiness, in the end, is not about your thoughts, it's about your actions.
So, if I say something idiotic, I apologize in advance. Karma made me do it. Just tell me about it; and, in the process, share something about yourself. I'm a good listener.